GAO Report Validates CBA Concerns

March 29, 2016

 

Washington, D.C. (March 29, 2016) – Richard Hunt, President and CEO of the Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), issued the following statement in response to a U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) report entitled “Financial Regulation: Complex and Fragmented Structure Could Be Streamlined to Improve Effectiveness” released yesterday:

“When regulators fail to be efficient and effective, consumers are hurt the most,” said CBA’s President and CEO Richard Hunt.  “Yesterday’s GAO report validates concerns we have echoed for years, the Dodd-Frank Act was not a panacea.  We must rethink our financial regulatory structure—this time, putting consumers first.”

Report Highlights:

  • “While changes made by the Dodd-Frank Act were consistent with some of the characteristics identified in this framework, the existing regulatory structure does not always ensure (1) efficient and effective oversight, (2) consistent financial oversight, and (3) consistent consumer protections. As a result, negative effects of fragmented and overlapping authorities persist throughout the system.”
  • “While coordination and collaboration among regulators help to manage some of the negative effects of fragmentation and overlap, the sheer number of regulatory bodies and differences in their regulatory approaches continue to make coordination challenging and time-consuming.”
  • “Fragmentation, overlap, and duplication also introduce significant challenges for efficient and effective oversight of financial institutions and activities. Fragmentation and overlap in the structure have resulted in inefficiencies in the regulatory process; inconsistencies in how regulators conduct oversight activities over similar types of institutions, products, and risks; the potential for duplication in regulators’ oversight activities; and differences in the levels of protection provided to consumers.”

About CBA
The Consumer Bankers Association (CBA) is the trade association for today's leaders in retail banking - banking services geared toward consumers and small businesses. The nation's largest financial institutions, as well as many regional banks, are CBA corporate members, collectively holding two-thirds of the industry's total assets. CBA’s mission is to preserve and promote the retail banking industry as it strives to fulfill the financial needs of the American consumer and small business.
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The Consumer Bankers Association is the recognized voice on retail banking issues in the nation’s capital. Founded in 1919, CBA provides leadership, education, research and federal representation on retail banking issues. For more information, please contact Maggie Seidel, mseidel@consumerbankers.com, (571) 447-0197 or visit www.consumerbankers.com.

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